Gov. Paul LePage inserted himself into a state law enforcement proceeding about a religious discrimination case and threatened to go to court if the legal process was not postponed, according to an internal memo.

The governor, however, said he was not interfering, but only trying to make sure there was no “ethical breach” in the case involving an audio recording he had been told was edited.

The statewide wind power opposition group Friends of Maine Mountains will have to shut down if it can’t restructure its five-member board of directors within four months, as part of a settlement with Maine’s attorney general over charges of conflict of interest at the organization.

Time Warner, the state's largest internet provider, has wined and dined legislators at the opening of this year's session in hopes of thwarting legislation that would make it easier for cities and towns who want faster internet connections to become broadband providers themselves. The wining and dining was done at an overnight event at a luxury Cape Elizabeth resort and takes place in the context of Time Warner's nationwide battle against such local efforts to get faster internet.

The recent two-day conference that corporate giant Time Warner put on for Maine legislators has revealed loopholes in the state’s ethics laws that make it difficult for voters to know if their elected representatives took part. Continue Reading →

By:Blake Davis, staff reporter | January 22, 2015

Gov. Paul LePage plans to submit legislation this session that would create the state's first lieutenant governor, do away with the secretary of state position and give the power to appoint the attorney general and treasurer to the governor. Continue Reading →

As the new legislative session opens this week in Augusta, the tale of what became in the most recent session a bill called L. D. 1750 — “An act to amend the Maine Administrative Procedure Act and clarify wind energy laws” — is a case study in how special interests hold sway in the legislature. Continue Reading →

The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting unveils its second annual Watchdog Index, modeled after the Harper's Index. We have been performing high level math — ok, mostly grade school arithmetic — to come up with how money was spent on the Maine election this year and finding other ways it could have been spent.

Such as helping Mainers stay warm, sending kids to baseball games or buying thousands and thousands of people Bean boots. Continue Reading →

Maine’s ethics agency has proposed legislation that would tighten up lax regulations that allowed a Sanford legislator to pay himself and family members from political action committee funds he controlled.

Commission staff proposed the change in response to a story published in October by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. Continue Reading →

The LePage Inaugural 2015 group, which is organizing celebrations to coincide with the official inauguration, is offering a discount to parties of four or more to attend “a thank-you event” for just $2,000 per person.

In the last 13 days before Election Day, state campaign finance records show millions of dollars coming in, millions going out – much of it for the heated race for governor. Use our interactive charts to explore the last-minute contributions and expenditures in Maine’s state Nov. 4 election. Continue Reading →

The number of fundraising events appears to have slowed during this last month as campaigns have accelerated their efforts to raise money from everyday citizens, not just high-dollar donors, through phone calls and emails. Continue Reading →

Center News

Two of the Center's recent stories were featured on Maine radio news programs this past week. Senior Reporter John Christie was interviewed by MPBN's Mal Leary for an MPBN version of Christie's story about how Gov. Paul LePage inserted himself in a religious discrimination case against Moody’s Diner. You can listen to that story here. And Senior […]

Reporter’s Notebook

New England’s leading media association has awarded two of its top journalism awards
to The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. The New England Newspaper and Press Association on Thursday recognized the Center with two Publick Occurrences Awards for its expose called, “Rx for Theft,” and its profile of governor Paul LePage. The press association presented 12 Publick Occurrences Awards this year for “the very best work that New England newspapers produce … whether it’s individual or team stories, series, spot news coverage, columns or photojournalism …”
Newspapers of all sizes, from large dailies to weeklies to small online media such as the Center, competed for the awards.

Close to three dozen Democrats will boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, angry that House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) invited the head-of-state without consulting President Obama. The rift is emblematic of the tension between the White House and hard-line supporters of Israel on how to deal…

A profile of net neutrality’s biggest opponents is available here. Yesterday we profiled the top four opponents of net neutrality who, though the FCC’s decision to regulate the Internet as a public utility has been made, are likely to continue to play a role as the decision is contested in the courts and perhaps in…

The ‘silent’ primary to convince conservative voters — and donors — which potential 2016 candidate is their guy or gal started on Thursday and continues through Saturday. Or at least that’s how the Conservative Political Action Conference, the yearly meeting organized by the American Conservative Union, bills itself — a chance for political hopefuls, particularly prospective White House candidates like Ben…

In Case You Missed It

New England’s leading media association has awarded two of its top journalism awards
to The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. The New England Newspaper and Press Association on Thursday recognized the Center with two Publick Occurrences Awards for its expose called, “Rx for Theft,” and its profile of governor Paul LePage.

Today, we introduce our readers to “Political Party Time” — or, as our colleague Kathy Kiely from the Sunlight Foundation calls it, political “money porn.”
Consider it the Victoria’s Secret catalog of Maine politics documenting the titillating and naughty stuff underneath that wholesome and sincere exterior most politicians want to project. The Sunlight Foundation originated “Political Party Time” in 2008 from the national perspective.